Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 11-22-19

Features
Officials Confirm 145 Graves Found On King High School’s Campus
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
A historic cemetery many years missing is now believed to be located on the campus of King High School and contains more than 100 graves.
The results of a scan of the southern end of the property reveals at least 145 coffins buried three to five feet deep. Those graves were found using ground-penetrating radar which cannot detect what ex- actly is in the ground. But the findings match the historical records of a one-acre cemetery that once existed on the site, the long-forgotten Ridgewood Cemetery, officials said.
According to the report, be- tween 250 and 268 burials took place at Ridgewood. Many of the people buried there were children and some coffins may have decayed – ex- plaining the discrepancy be- tween the number of recorded burials and graves detected by the scan.
On Wednesday, Hillsbor- ough Schools Superintend- ent Jeff Eakins announced the results of the scan at a press conference at district headquarters. Flanked by local leaders and members of the Historical Response Commit- tee – which was formed last month after a citizen alerted the district of a possible gravesite on the school’s cam- pus – Eakins said the District has notified the county med- ical examiner and state archae- ologist with the results.
It’s anticipated that both offices will take 30 days to re- view the report. After that time, they’ll either take posses- sion of the site or return it to
School Superintendent Jeff Eakins with members of the Histor- ical Response Committee – including County Commission Chair- man, Les Miller, Rev. Larry L. Roundtree, II, Senator Darryl Rouson, Atty. Sean Shaw, and Tamara Shamburger.
the District, he said.
In the meantime, the area
has been fenced off. A building in the area that was used in the 1970s for the school’s agricul- tural workshop will be re- moved.
At a committee meeting immediately following the news conference, Supt. Eakins said that no matter the decision, Hillsborough schools will remain focused on playing a leading role in re- solving the matter.
“It’s whatever it takes for our School District to make this right,” he said.
King High School was built in 1959. It’s unclear how the school was allowed to be con- structed on the cemetery grounds. Ridgewood was es- tablished sometime in the 1940s as a city-owned grave- yard for the city’s Black resi- dents. It was sold to a private buyer in 1957 and then again to the School District two years later.
It’s critical to investigate
how the cemetery was lost, said former state Rep. Sean Shaw.
“I’m interested in knowing how this happened,” he said. “What happened to the records? Why we’re here where we are today?”
The latest news evoked strong emotions from many of the committee members. NAACP President Yvette Lewis appeared to breakdown in tears while describing her reaction.
“I don’t want to hear... nothing about a dollar amount,” she said, her voice rising. “Just do it.”
The displacement of the cemetery is another reminder of the hatred Tampa’s Black residents have endured throughout the city’s history, she said.
“This hurts. Deeply,” she said. “That we can be thrown away. I’m ashamed.”
Especially disturbing is the location of children’s graves on the site, said committee mem- ber Bob Morrison.
It’s likely their parents could not honor them with a proper burial and “did the best they could,” he said.
Hillsborough County Com- missioner Chair Les Miller said it’s likely the recovery of Ridgewood may not be anom- aly.
“This community will need to prepare to deal with more than King High School because there’s more coming,” he said.
Just hours after Miller’s comments, officials at MacDill Air Force Base announced there may be a Black cemetery on its grounds.
After the meeting, Lewis said she would like to see the city step up with a proper me- morial for the deceased. She opposed reinterring the graves to another location.
“Let those people rest,” she said.
New School Board Chair Elected During Reorganization Meeting
TAMARA SHAMBURGER ..Outgoing Board Chair
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The results of a reorganiza- tion meeting on Tuesday re- moved District 5 representative, Tamara Shamburger from her year- long position as chair of the Hillsborough County School Board.
Succeeding her is longtime board member Melissa Snively, who was first elected in 2014 and re-elected last year to represent District 4. Steve Cona of District 1 – who also joined the board last year – was elected vice chair.
Before the vote, Snively showered Shamburger with gifts from the Board for her service as chair. Other board members spoke glowingly of her leadership.
“You’ve risen the respect level of this Board,” said
Cindy Stuart, of District 3. Karen Perez, of District 6, called Shamburger a “role
model.”
“Thank you for being that
for us,” she said. “And keeping us united during this first year.”
Shamburger was elected to the board in 2016, an event that she described was the cul- mination of overcoming multi- ple obstacles, including teen pregnancy.
“I really shouldn’t be here,” she said. “But here I am, fight- ing for little boys and girls to have a chance.”
Shamburger has led the Board through some notable moments including the renam- ing of Robert E. Lee Elemen- tary School to Tampa Heights Elementary and, most re- cently, the search for a new su- perintendent outside the district, the first such event in many years.
And there have been some controversial moments, like when the Board voted to re- move public comments from meetings that air on television and the web.
But on Tuesday, Sham- burger called it all “a manifes- tation of perseverance and triumph.”
“I look forward to working with you in the years to come,” she said.
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